Week #6 SBS Giveaway

SEWCIAL BEE SAMPLER GIVEAWAY FRIDAY

Each Friday, throughout the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along, which Maureen Cracknell and I are co-hosting, will be a Giveaway Friday. We've coordinated special giveaway prizes with our amazing participating sponsors for each and every week! If you've happened to miss any of the Sewcial Bee Sampler posts, take a look back from the first post The Start of Something Sewcial to get caught up to the present. Feel free to start sewing with us at anytime--it's never too late to join in, and it's free! 

TODAY'S FEATURED SEWCIAL BEE SAMPLER SPONSOR IN THE INTREPID THREAD!

With over 15 years of experience in e-commerce, The Intrepid Thread is a family owned business employing five amazingly creative quilters and sewists. Julie, the owner, is dedicated to offering quality quilting fabrics at competitive prices and takes special pride in knowing her customer receive unparalleled service!

SHOP  *  BLOG  *  FACEBOOK * We hope you enjoy visiting The Intrepid Thread! 

For this week's Sewcial Bee Sampler giveaway, Julie at The Intrepid Thread is offering a $20 gift certificate to spend however you'd like at her shop!

ENTER TO WIN!

Here's how: Since Maureen and I are taking turns hosting the Sewcial Bee Sampler Giveaway Fridays, this week I'm sending you to Maureen Cracknell's blog to enter!

A BIG thanks to all of you who are joining the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along and to those who enter our Giveaway!  ♡ Sharon

Week #4 SBS Giveaway

Sewcial Bee Sampler Giveaway Friday

Each Friday, throughout the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along which Maureen Cracknell and I are co-hosting, will be a Giveaway Friday. We've coordinated special giveaway prizes with some amazing sponsors. 

If you're just now joining us, welcome, it's never too late to start sewing along! Please take a moment to catch up by reviewing all my earlier posts, beginning with the January 30th, 2017 post The Start of Something Sewcial.

Before I introduce this week's sponsor I want to sneak in some photos of the second SBS quilt I've started using fabrics from my first four Art Gallery Fabrics collections: Gossamer, Sketchbook, Coastline, and Tapestry plus the two re-colored Fusion prints from my original Gossamer collection. I'm always so busy posting the how-to's that it leaves little room for the have-mades!

Week #3 Flock and this week #4 Crow's Nest. Next week I'll show you how pretty the first five block look together as we get 1/5 of the way through making the blocks. Hope you've been having fun so far?!!!?

Aurifil      Circa 15      The Intrepid Thread      Fat Quarter Shop      Omnigrid      Llama Fabrics      Color Girl     Lady Belle Fabric      Needle in a Fabric Stash      Dritz      Knotted Thread        Needle and Foot      Stash Builder Box

 

TODAY'S FEATURED SEWCIAL BEE SAMPLER SPONSOR IS THE FAT QUARTER SHOP!

The Fat Quarter Shop was founded in 2003 by Kimberly Jolly. An avid quilter, Kimberly began her shop as a side business while still working a corporate position, cutting, packing and shipping right out of her house during evenings and weekends. From the very beginning, she was committed to delivering top-notch service for every single order and customer. As the Fat Quarter Shop's reputation grew, Kimberly decided to make it a full-time operation. Her husband Kevin joined her not long after, and with his help, lots of hard work, and a tireless commitment, the store began to grow. Over the past few years a few more people have joined the staff! As a team, they continue to branch out with the best fabrics, exclusive kits, quilt clubs, BOMs, and more. And they will always be driven by the passion that Kimberly founded the store upon, which is always giving you the best products and service!

SHOP  *  PINTEREST  *  TWITTER  *  BLOG  *  FACEBOOK  *  YOUTUBE 

We hope you enjoy visiting Fat Quarter Shop! 

For this week's Sewcial Bee Giveaway, Fat Quarter Shop is offering to one lucky commenter these beauties from my Garden Dreamer collection for Art Gallery Fabrics, the Greenhouse Fat Quarter Bundle! This prize includes TEN Garden Dreamer prints! You can find this bundle available at Fat Quarter Shop right HERE! 

ENTER TO WIN!

Here's how: Since Maureen and I are taking turns hosting the Sewcial Bee Sampler Giveaway Fridays, this week I'm sending you to Maureen Cracknell's blog to enter!

A BIG thanks to all of you who are joining the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along and to those who enter our Giveaway!  ♡ Sharon

Sewcial Bee Sampler Block #4

Hello, it's Wednes-yay and that means it's block release day! Are you starting to feel more confident about sewing half-square triangles? Block #4 is called Crow's Nest and has only 4 HSTs as well as introduces piecing of strips.

My partner in crime, co-host, and good friend Maureen Cracknell and I have been so impressed by all the blocks being made--you makers are amazing! Because of your enthusiasm and beautiful block postings, new Sewcial Bee Sampler makers are joining us everyday! We'd like to welcome our new friends. If you're new to the SBS sew along or haven't already read some of my helpful posts with tips and tutorials, please refer back to these posts: SBS Extras, Perfect Patchwork, Sewcial Bee Sampler Block #1, Sewcial Bee Sampler Block #2, and Sewcial Bee Sampler Block #3.

Download the free PDF pattern for the Crow's Nest block on my Sew Along page. 

Crow's Nest Block

Be sure to cut all pieces accurately and square. Use a true 1/4" seam allowance when piecing your patchwork. Refer to the step-by-step Half-Square Triangles tutorial from the Block #2 post for making the HSTs for this block.  

1. When sewing the strips together for the Crow's Nest block keep in mind there are two seams in the strip set unit. I say this because if your seam allowances are off, that's two times the problems. I like to press my seams open on strip set units so they lay nice and flat.

2. After the three strips have been sewn together, the unit should measure exactly 3-1/2" square. Likewise, the HST units will also measure 3-1/2" square. Press seams open on HST units and trim dog ears to reduce bulk. When joining the rows, I press the seams of the rows to one side, rather than pressing open. By pressing the seams to one side it allows me to lock the nested seams in place when pinning to sew. Once the Crow's Nest block is pieced, I press open the row seams. The block before adding frames should now measure 9-1/2" square. 

Be sure to visit Maureen's blog and see her beautiful block. She was much bolder than I and used several different prints from her Art Gallery Fabrics fabric lines. I decided to keep things simple and only use two prints from my new Bountiful fabrics line for Art Gallery Fabrics. The leaf print, called Arborescent is one of my favorite prints from the collection and I wanted to see more of it! 

Lorraine Isaac from @quilting_nanny on Instagram left a tip in my comments that she uses small pants hangers to hang her blocks so they don't get messed up before getting into a quilt. What a great idea and fun way to photograph a block too!

My little tip and money saver is to use the flannel side of an inexpensive vinyl tablecloth as a design wall. Since I don't rent or have any plans of putting my house on the market, I have simply used flat thumb tacks pushed directly into the drywall on a bare wall in my sewing room. The tablecloth is not heavy and thumbtacks are all that's needed to hold the tablecloth flat against the wall. 

Do you like my sewing basket? I've had that every since I was a kid and red was my favorite color back then. Now, I'm more of a peachy-pink lover but I'll never get rid of that basket! Here's a look at all four of my SBS block in my Bountiful fabrics sampler quilt. I have two quilts going and the second sampler is being made from a curated group of 20 prints pulled from my first four Art Gallery Fabrics lines (Gossamer, Sketchbook, Coastline, and Tapestry) plus the two newly recolored designs (original to Gossamer) found in the new AGF Fusion collections. More about that second quilt on Friday--I didn't get block #4 made yet! 

Also, don't forget that Friday is Giveaway Friday and this week Maureen will be hosting the giveaway on her blog. We've got a great giveaway planned from the Fat Quarter Shop I know you'll not want to miss!

Aurifil      Circa 15      The Intrepid Thread      Fat Quarter Shop      Omnigrid      Llama Fabrics      Color Girl     Lady Belle Fabric      Needle in a Fabric Stash      Dritz      Knotted Thread    NeedleandFoot      Stash Builder Box

Happy sewing, I look forward to seeing your Sewcial Bee Sampler blocks!

Sewcial Bee Sampler Block #2

Sewcial Bee Sampler Block #2

So, how'd everyone like the first week of the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew along? Both Maureen and I are blown away by the response and all the beautiful week one Patience Corners blocks. You guys are amazing! Keep up the posting to Instagram and be sure to use the #sewcialbeesampler hashtag so we can easily keep track of all the posts AND public IG accounts that use the official sew along hashtag are automatically entered into all our IG giveaway drawings!

It's been so fun to see the personal touches you've put into fabric choices and fabric placement on the first block. Many of you even made more than one! A question that came up a lot last week was about selecting the framing fabric. I suggested to several to possibly hold off in making that decision now, and rather wait till you've made more blocks to get the bigger picture. My co-host Maureen Cracknell and I are constantly monitoring Instagram to help you with your SBS sewing. We try to see it all and comment in someway, but bare with us as we are getting a bit swamped by the huge success of the sew along!

Ready for block #2--It's a dandy!

Get the free download for block #2 A Dandy on my Sew Along download page. Remember, you can start the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew along at any time, just download the available patterns and jump right in!

This week we will be utilizing two patchwork sewing techniques in block #2. I've prepared some step by step images for you and of course, this same information is illustrated and written down in the download material. 

I was lucky enough to get the advance yardage rolls of my new Bountiful fabrics for Art Gallery Fabrics! I'm making my sampler in my new collection and will also use AGF Pure Element solids for my frames and sashing. Bountiful will be in shops next month.

Tutorials

Half-Square Triangle Units

Since we only need 4 half-square triangle (HST) units in this block, we will be using a more traditional, 2-at-a-time HST method. 

1. Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of a square, as indicated by the pattern. Place a marked square right sides together with a same-size square. Sew a 1/4" seam on each side of the drawn line. I like to press my stitched squares so everything's nice and flat before moving on to Step 2.

2. Cut apart on the line. Open and press. Trim dog ears. Makes 2 half-square triangle (HST) units. 

Quick Corner Units

I'd rather waste a little bit of material than sew on a bias cut edge. Quick corners allow you to sew on straight-of-grain pieces before trimming and flipping out the triangle corners. Here's how to sew them:

1. Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of a square as indicated by the pattern. Noting orientation of the drawn line, place the marked square on a corner of shape indicated in the pattern. Sew on the drawn line. Tip: Sewing just outside the line on the corner side will keep the unit square.  Trim 1/4" past the stitch line. Press corner open. 

2. Noting orientation of the drawn line, repeat on the other corner as shown. Trim seam allowance and press corner open. Note: It's very important you press open the first corner before sewing on the second corner. Let's just put it this way, you'll know exactly why I mention this if you've forgotten :)

Here's my finished block # 2, I can't wait to see what you make! Don't forget to visit Maureen Cracknell's blog to see how she's sewn her A Dandy block. Maureen will be also be hosting this week's Giveaway Friday from our sponsor The Intrepid Thread--I know you'll not want to miss that!

Happy sewing xxxx

Thanks to our generous sponsors, each Friday Maureen and I will alternate hosting a giveaway of amazing prizes. Be sure to follow this blog and at Maureen Cracknell Handmade so you never miss a single SBS thing!

Aurifil      Circa 15      The Intrepid Thread      Fat Quarter Shop      Omnigrid      Llama Fabrics      Color Girl     

Lady Belle Fabric      Needle in a Fabric Stash      Dritz      Knotted Thread